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LATEMODELRACER >> NORTH REGION >> Fastrak Northeast Driver Trip South to Grand Nationals a Success
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Message started by LMR on 10/25/10 at 10:21pm

Title: Fastrak Northeast Driver Trip South to Grand Nationals a Success
Post by LMR on 10/25/10 at 10:21pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 25, 2010

FASTRAK NORTHEAST DRIVERS TRIP SOUTH TO GRAND NATIONALS A SUCCESS; MAX BLAIR TAKES $20,000 RUNNER-UP HONORS AS 2010 FASTRAK POINT MONIES EXCEED $95,000!

By Mike Leone
Rural Retreat, VA…The fourth season for the FASTRAK Northeast ended on Saturday night at Virginia’s Wythe Raceway for Night 3 of the Grand Nationals. Thirteen Northeast Late Model racers made the trip south to join up with other FASTRAK regions throughout the nation to determine the 2010 Grand National Champion and to attempt to align their name with the other 23 prestigious point paying positions.

The Blair family led the charge for the Grand National title as both Max and his father Robbie found themselves tied for the point lead. Max had high hopes of making a clean sweep of the three levels of FASTRAK’s lucrative point funds. The 20-year-old Centerville, Pa. driver had already captured the $10,000 National Weekly Series Championship and the $5,000 Northeast Touring Series Championship for the second time in the past three seasons.

After a disappointing qualifying effort, Blair worked his way from the eighth starting spot in his heat to a third place finish, which translated into an 11th place starting spot for the 50-lap feature. Only one caution would slow the pace for the $2,000 to-win feature, which was won by Georgia’s Jonathan Davenport. After 50 laps around the fast, high-banked Wythe Raceway, Blair had given his all which resulted in a respectable seventh place at the finish, as 22 of the original 24 starters finished the event.

When the points were tallied, Blair came up just three points shy A.J. Diemel’s mark of 92. Diemel, who was last year’s National Weekly Series Championship, raced from the 12th starting spot to a third place finish to give the Great Lakes Region their first Grand National Championship, worth $30,000 for the Wisconsin driver.

Blair’s runner-up was the best showing ever for the Northeast and earned the youngster $20,000 to go along with his $15,000 of 2010 FASTRAK point fund monies already earned bringing his total to $35,000! That impressive number doesn’t even include his season earnings, which featured a career-high 24 victories, along with championships at Raceway 7 and Tri-City Speedway plus a runner-up in the standings at Mercer Raceway Park in his Specialty Products/4 Your Car Connection/Moody & Son Welding/Bossard’s Sales & Service-sponsored #111.

“To watch a 20-year-old racer rise not only to the top both locally and regionally is certainly something special, but to see him attain national recognition through the National Weekly Series and Grand Nationals is something that our entire region should be proud of,” stated fourth year Northeast co-Director Vicki Emig. “Max has exemplified what the FASATRAK Series has to offer. By applying himself over the past three years, he has shown everyone in our area the potential benefits of participating in this wonderful program.”

With his many years of Super Late Model experience and success, many considered the elder Blair to have the best shot of the Northeast contingent to bring home the championship. The 2009 All Star champion and 2010 All Star current point leader looked strong in his heat Saturday night until getting shuffled around and dropped to fourth at the finish in his first ever race at Wythe. The 40-year-old started from the 15th spot in the feature and was only able to advance one position at the finish to 14th, but thanks to a runner-up at Mercer and a win at Roaring Knob, Robbie was able to tie for fifth place in the final Grand National points!

Besides the Blair Family, Bud Watson was the biggest story from the Northeast heading to the Grand Nationals. The 17-year-old second year FASTRAK racer turned in a fifth place effort in Night 1 at Mercer and a fine third in Night 2 at Roaring Knob. Watson clicked instantly since getting into the John and Janet Powell #100 over Labor Day Weekend. His career first FASTRAK win came in a Touring Series event at Tri-City in just his third start for the Powells and top five finishes became the norm rather than the exception.

Watson started fifth in his heat Saturday night and didn’t disappoint with a strong run to the runner-up position earning the eighth starting spot. Watson looked good early on in the feature as he moved up to the sixth position- the highest amongst Northeast drivers; however, Watson’s season came to an abrupt halt when Diemel got into the rear of Watson turning him into the frontstretch wall. Watson was credited with 24th and a disappointing 15th in the final Grand National standing some 10 spots lower than where he may have finished in the final standings had he maintained his position.

With two Touring Series victories late in the season at Woodhull and McKean County Raceways on his resume and respectable finishes in the first two nights of the Grand Nationals, Steve Dixon made the long tow from Smethport, Pa. with high aspirations. The 30-year-old hard charger fought electrical issues all weekend long and didn’t have enough speed to contend for a feature position. Dixon’s first Grand Nationals effort ended with an 18th place point finish.

Besides Watson, Mike Blose suffered a good dose of heartbreak as well. The New Bethlehem, Pa. veteran was one of only four Northeast racers to turn in a pair of top 10 finishes in the first two nights of the Grand Nationals and was hoping for a strong effort at Wythe for a solid Grand National placing. A poor qualifying effort put Blose behind the eight-ball on Saturday night; however, he was able to work his way from the seventh starting spot into what would be a transferring spot in the second last chance race. Frankie Beard though had a great run off the top of turn four on the final lap to nip by Blose by a mere 0.011 seconds denying Blose from earning anymore valuable Grand National points. Blose would end up 19th in the final standings.

Fresh off his third place finish in the National Event at West Virginia Motor Speedway one week prior, Dan Angelicchio was able to qualify for Saturday’s feature thanks to a fourth place heat finish. In the end, the Greensburg, Pa. racer came home in the 18th spot in the feature, which added to his 17th at Mercer and sixth at Roaring Knob to put him in a tie for 20th in points.

With runner-ups in the National Weekly Series Championship and Northeast Touring Series points already to his credit, Mike Pegher, Jr. hoped to improve on his Grand Nationals standings. The Wexford, Pa. driver suffered a heartbreaking end in Night 2 of the Grand Nationals at Roaring Knob. While leading the feature, Pegher got caught up with the spinning Steve Davis and the contact resulted in a broken wrist. On Saturday night, Pegher turned the fastest lap of the Northeast racers in qualifying with fifth overall and a strong second place finish earned him a sixth starting spot in the feature. Pegher though slipped back through the field and could only a muster a 16th place finish and 22nd place standing in the Grand Nationals.

Butch Lambert (Mars, Pa.) and Gary Knollinger (Wheeling, Wv.) battled all season long in the Northeast Touring Series with Lambert edging the Mid-Ohio Valley Touring Series Champion by a single point for third place. The duo headed to the Grand Nationals ironically tied in points and would leave Virginia again tied in the final Grand Nationals standings in 23rd after both racers failed to qualify for the feature.

Five other racers made the trip south to Wythe and though they were unable to crack the top 24 in the Grand Nationals point fund, they did have the opportunity to run the bonus event for racers outside that top 24 placing. The 12-lap event paid $1,200 to-win, which was won by Brian Connor. The top Northeast racer was Kyle Lukon. The 21-year-old Burgettstown, Pa. racer finished third after leading lap two in his first ever trip to Wythe. Finishing fifth in the event was 50-year Troy Shields. The Acme, Pa. driver missed out on fourth place by just 0.017 seconds.

Joe Martin of Mayport, Pa. and Jamie Brown of Jamestown, Ny. entered Wythe tied with 45 points after the first two nights. The 25-year-old Martin would finish seventh in the bonus event, while the 20-year-old Brown came home one spot back in eighth. Like Dixon, Martin fought electrical issues as well. Brown made the longest tow south of the Northeast contingent and gained valuable experience in his first Grand Nationals effort.

“When it was all said and done, over $95,000 was in fluxed into the Northeast Region via the various FASTRAK point funds,” revealed fourth year Northeast co-Director Mike Leone. “The Northeast was represented by 28 out of the 50 racers in the National Weekly Series and nine out of the 24 in the Grand Nationals then add in the regional Touring Series and one can see the positive benefits of being part of the FASTRAK program. With some 100 additional racers taking part in FASTRAK bringing the total to over 300 along with record car counts and number of race tracks participating, the 2010 FASTRAK Northeast season was nothing short of spectacular and we looked forward to continued growth in 2011.”